Spies like us: New films by David Hare and John le Carré show human side of the intelligence services – Features, TV & Radio – The Independent

British spooks are back on screen. Next month sees the release of Working Title’s feature-film version of the John le Carré novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, with Gary Oldman as the MI6 officer George Smiley and Colin Firth as fellow spy Bill Haydon. Meanwhile, David Hare’s first film as a director in two decades, the thriller Page Eight, will be shown on Sunday on BBC2.